Friday, July 30, 2010

How I shop~ part 1

Shopping for 13 people on a VERY limited budget takes lots of creativity and work!  I have always been able to make my money stretch and sometimes by the next paycheck, I wonder how we did it.  God has given us the resources and taught me along the way how to make it work.  I am going to share some of the things I do and how we get 13 tummies full at the end of each day!

 
*My budget and food goals:

 
Not by choice but out of necessity, I have $200 every 2 weeks for food with an extra $50 a month for meat and milk.  So basically $450 a month I spend on all of our groceries.  My goal is lots of fresh fruit and finger veggies with every meal.  This time of year makes it very easy to do that!  Winter is a little harder!  So I do use canned fruit and frozen veggies during the cold months!  We use about 6-8 gallons of milk a week and I make sure it is hormone free!  We have a great christian creamery that sells milk for very resonable!  (Aldi's just switched over to hormone free milk, if you have one around you)

 

 
A breakdown:
  • $200 a month for pasta's (whole grain), grains, fresh fruit/veggies, crackers, rice, oatmeal, cereals, and spices
  • $100 a month for sauces, baking items, ketchup (HUGE in our house! It is a vegetable right?)  :)
  • $75 a month for yogurt, cheese, frozen veggies if needed and bread item
  • $75 a month for meat and milk

Tips for saving money:
  •  I use a local 'bent and dent' store to buy some of my pasta's, crackers and cereals~ I save lots of money doing it!  Over half the price!  Also cheaper to buy grains and baking items at our local Amish  store!  It is also where I can by 28lbs of straberries for .$50 a lb!  See if there is something similar around where you live!  Even driving 30 miles away will save you money!
  • I use our day old bread store that really is not a day old, just has a couple days left before the date expires.  I also make bread but sometimes just way easier to but it for $.79 a loaf!  I go there once a week and freeze it.  Includes buns, sandwich bread and Texas toast for french toast!  It is Wonder Bread, so it is great quality!

  • coupons along with store sales~ i never leave for the store without checking online for brand coupons for items on my list!

  • buy in quantity~ I have been known to buy 10 ketchup's, 50 lbs of hamburger, 50 lbs of flour, at a time if they are on sale!

  • Don't go to the store more often than necessary!  More trips means more money unless you are like my hubby and go in for 2 things and come out with 2!  Unlike me!  I go in for 2 and come out with 20!

  • Plan for how many meals you need before you shop and break it apart so you know EXACTLY what you will need.  Eliminating another trip to the store! 

  • Make things from scratch!  Prepared meals are costly and not as good for you anyway!  (That includes cookies and desserts!)

  • Make enough for 2-3 meals of main dish so you can have leftover night once a week or use it for lunch in the next day or two.  Also sometimes make an extra casserole to freeze to eliminate the temptation to order pizza when you don't feel like cooking some night!  :)

  • spoon out meals onto plates so portions are according to you NOT those who's eyes are bigger than their tummies!  (I am talking about younger children!  Older ones can do it themselves but it also helps establish proper portion control as they grow!)  I rarely let my kids have seconds unless it is fruit and veggies!

  • we only have milk with breakfast and drink water for every other meal and in between meals. They only get kool-aid, pop or juice with pizza and movie night with their popcorn.  It is a BIG treat!

  • I rarely EVER let my kids snack.  We have never created the habit with any of our kids and they just don't need them!  IF we do have one on occasion, it is popcorn, raisins, graham crackers or peanut butter toast.  Nothing boxed or prepared.

  • We hardly ever eat out.  But, if we do, it is somewhere kids eat free, reasonable pizza place ordered in, or the $1 menu at Micky D's!  :)  Also a HUGE treat for our kids!
  • We have never had the joy of being able to have a garden!  We are city folk, but that is also a great way to cut costs!  I have been given lots of free corn, strawberries, beans  and tomato's in the summer months that I freeze for future use! 
Stay tuned to Part 2 when I will give a sample of my 2 week menu plan and list I use to shop with!

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Going home...


Tonight, we will be home and back to REAL life!
Have enjoyed our time without a schedule and time to relax!
But, it is time to go home and I am so thankful I have so much to go home to!

So long Chicago and Milwaukee!  You have been good to us!



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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Away...

For the first time in years, my husband and I have had the chance to take a little vacation!  I have done more in 5 days, then I have done in 10 years!  Kiddo's are split up at grandparents house and we are...
ON OUR OWN!!

First thing we did was go to my class reunion, then it was off to see my dad in Chicago.  (I had not seen him for 11 years!)

We went on his boat on Lake Michigan and had an INCREDIBLE time!  Next, we left for my childhood friends house in the MIDDLE of good old Chi-town!  Had dinner on the beach and got a tour of the big city!  (Glad I was not driving!)

We arrived at our hotel in Milwaukee at 1:30 in the morning!  Not used to those hours but all I had to do that day was relax anyway so it made no difference!  (Strange feeling!)

We have shopped, gone sight seeing, and introduced our taste buds to some unusual foods.

2 more days left and it looks like we will be going to a Brewers baseball game and dinner on the Lake tonight.

I am having an identity crisis having to take care of nobody but myself and my hubby!  I am ready to see my babies but they seem to be doing fine without me!  And I thought they would be so miserable! HA! 

Here are some pics of our first experience of the trip "flying by the seat of our pants".  We passed a miniature golf course and decided to just stop and play a couple rounds!  We actually had to turn around and go back because we forgot we did not have anything else to do or naps to worry about!  It was so fun!




Hubby tee's off

sporting our favorite colors with our golf balls
Off on a boat ride and a day on Lake Michigan
Best place to grab a Wisconsin Brat!


More pics to post later, I am off to the pool to read a good book! :)


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Friday, July 16, 2010

Foto Friday

Brotherly love!

Someday, I'm gonna miss these precious moments!

I love being a mom!

Have a great weekend!


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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Too HOT!

A summer person I am NOT!  Yesterday the heat index reached 114 degrees where I live.  I don't really care what the heat index said, it was WAY to hot for me!  So we did other activities INSIDE!

~did our bible school books for the day

~watched a movie

~made pudding parfaits for dessert

~layed things on the floor like pillows, folded blankets and books and jumped to each without touching the carpet (alligators might get you!)

~lunch and eat parfaits

~naps

And then...

...The biggest fear of mine happened

The AIR CONDITIONING BREAKS!

So...

~I cry, panic and pray (should have thought of the last one first!)

~kids go out to play in the hose

~I cry some more

~watch sweat form on every inch of babies head (he is tougher than mom! He does not even care!)

~Friend comes over and looks at air conditioner

~sprays it off and cleans it

IT...

WORKS!

So...

~I cry again
~Thank God for taking care of my needs
~appreciate my cool house even more

Still...

I DO NOT LIKE SUMMER!

(Okay, really it is being hot I don't like but I am not hot anymore so I don't mind summer so much right now!)

But I can't wait until October!




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Monday, July 12, 2010

Biker Baby

Well,not really! 

We don't even know anyone who owns a motorcycle!

But big sister thought of putting her bandana on him and it was just too cute!

(The slobbery shirt makes me think a bib would be a better use for the bandana
but oh well!)
 
Babies and bandana's just go good together no matter how they wear them!






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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Busy?

Is summer busier for me than any other season? 

Well, not really unless I choose it to be.  And if it is 'busy' it is because I want it to be!  But there are a few things that I let go of just so we can have less "have to's".  I don't take summer's off for school.  We do it all year round, but I DO find other things that I can't do in the winter.  Hikes, picnics, trips to the amish community, treasure/scavenger hunts, walks, and of course, swimming at grandma's!  These are all things I use to 'teach'.  Sometimes, it is just teaching social graces and other times they are used for valuable science lessons!  If you have read my blog long enough, you know that sitting at a table or desk for school is not my style!  All my kids who are old enough, read, write, and know math!  My oldest surpass all the life skills they need at 16 and 15!  (Not saying that to brag, just a point I want to make).  Teaching them to how to live in this world is far more important, than any knowledge a school book can give!  (Although there is a small place for that too).  Discovering all of God's creation and looking at it with their siblings is a great learning experience!  (Believe me, boys can think of all kinds of things to with rocks, sticks, and some rope!)  And what one does not think of, the other one will! ;0



I choose, not to get uptight about things that need to be done in the summer.  God is teaching me to take one moment at a time.  If that means less blogging, which it has, then I will blog when I feel like it or have time!  Bedtimes not quite so prompt, nap times sometimes just go out the window.  MORE time with family and savoring my children at each stage becomes my priority.  My oldest just got his driver's license this week, and not so long ago, I thought that would NEVER happen, surely the rapture would come before that!  (and I still wish that were the case!  :)  I know there were summer's that I did not apprectiate his carefree day's of just being with mom and no where he HAD to go!  Now, he is away working many days and I am trying to learn from that and apprecitate all the "flowers" (weeds) topped off with a kiss, brought to me by my little ones.  The joy of just going to the park to slide and swing, the excitement a caterpillar can bring and the amazement a slimy frog jumping in the grass brings! 

So, am I busy this summer?  Well, I guess.  But I am hoping I am just as 'busy' this fall realizing how wonderful it is to have kids and how to not take any simple moment for granted!  All to soon, they grow up and then I will hopefully teach them how to enjoy every moment of their 'business'. 

I would not have it any other way!  May I always be BUSY!

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